Former world no.5 Daniela Hantuchova is one of the most appreciated tennis commentators. Given her past, Daniela is well aware of the challenges of combining solid results with being involved in other off-court issues.
Hantuchova stressed her admiration for Naomi Osaka especially after she won her 2nd US Open while being extremely vocal in defending the black community.
Talking to Sky Sport, Daniela commented:
“I think it just shows her mental strength because to be brave and go out there and speak your heart out, that’s going to take a lot of energy out of her.
And being able to back it up with the results she had on the court in the States at the same time shows what a wonderful young grown-up lady she has become and she’s definitely very strong on the court, off the court and again another wonderful inspiration in women’s tennis.”
The former world no.5, also stressed the fact that is great that other players such as Serena Williams and Cori Gauff have been using their platform for important issues.
“I think it’s very important given tennis is the leading women’s sport in the world.
It’s wonderful to see that these girls are using their platform to make the difference and that they’re not scared about getting criticized and it just shows the personality they have as players, they’re able to transfer that to their off-court actions as well,” said Daniela.
Naomi Osaka in 2021
At the moment ranked no.3, Naomi played her last match on the 12th of September 2020 when she defeated Victoria Azarenka 1-6 6-3 6-3 in the final of the U.S. Open to win her 6th career title.
Serena Williams in 2021
Now the world no.11, Serena Williams played her last match on the 28th of September 2020 when she overcame Kristie Ahn 7-6(2) 6-0 in the 1st round of the French Open (draw).
Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams fought against each other 3 times. Their actual record is 2-1 for Osaka. The last time they played, Serena Williams won 6-3 6-4 in the quarter in Toronto (Rogers Cup) in August 2019.
In the following video you can watch the key moments of their match.
Cori Gauff in 2021
Ranked world no.48, Gauff played her last match on the 9th of January when she was overcome by Maria Sakkari 7-5 6-2 in the 2nd round in Abu Dhabi (draw).
Until now, during this year Gauff has a 1-1 win-loss record.
